5 leaks that have Congress steamed

Members of Congress and others in the intelligence community are growing increasingly outraged over leaks that some say threaten national security. “What we’re seeing…is an Anschluss, an avalanche of leaks. And it’s very, very disturbing,” said Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee.

Here is POLITICO’s list of five leaks that members of Congress and other officials have recently vented on:

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1. U.S. Involvement in Stuxnet

A New York Times report confirmed the U.S. involvement in the development of the computer virus Stuxnet, which targeted nuclear centrifuges in Iran.

“I read ‘The New York Times’ article and my heart dropped, because he [the reporter] wove a tapestry which has an impact that’s beyond any single one thing,” Feinstein told CNN.

2. Underwear Bomber

A leak led to an AP report in May that said U.S. national security agencies had foiled a sophisticated underwear bomber plot timed for the anniversary of Osama bin Laden’s death. Further leaks allowed news outlets to report that the U.S. had planted a spy in Al Qaeda’s Yemenese affiliate.

“Leaks such as this threaten ongoing operations, puts at risk the lives of sources, makes it much more difficult to recruit sources and damages our relationships with our foreign partners,” said FBI Director Robert Mueller at the time.

3. “Kill List”

The New York Times published a story that revealed the president was personally involved in a selection process that designated terrorists for assassination, the “kill list.”

“With each leak, our allies are left to wonder how much they can trust us with their secrets. Some in the administration have decided that scoring political points in an election year outweighs intelligence operations,” Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.) said, referring to both the “kill list” and Stuxnet stories.

4. Identification of the Pakistani doctor who helped find bin Laden

The Guardian and the New York Times revealed last year that the CIA had staged a fake polio vaccination campaign in Pakistan in order to obtain DNA from bin Laden’s family.

Sen. John McCain blamed a “flurry of anonymous boasting” over the bin Laden operation for leading to the identification of Dr. Shakil Afridi, who helped with the clandestine campaign. Afridi was recently sentenced to 33 years in prison in Pakistan for high treason.

5. Osama movie

Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.) has suggested that Obama administration officials may have cooperated with – and leaked to – filmmakers working on a movie about Osama bin Laden called “Zero Dark Thirty” and directed by Academy Award winner Kathryn Bigelow.

“The leaks that followed the successful bin Laden mission led to the arrests of Pakistanis and put in danger the mission’s heroes and their families,” said King earlier this year.